CHRISTMAS CRAZINESS!!!!

I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAD A SUPER DUPER CHRISTMAS!!!!!! I know I did! I love being on a mission for Christmas because I get to just focus on Christ and the real meaning of Christmas without all of the gifts and things. It is the best!!

 

Since I didn't e-mail last week I have a lot to say for this e-mail!! I hope I can say everything that I want too! haha...if time permits!

 

Stories:

 

So, The week before Christmas I got to go on two exchanges. I was in the other area for both of them and it was so much fun!! I love these sisters so much, and I learn a ton from them! I went to Hodgenville Kentucky for the first one with Sister Herald! She has only been out for 2 months and is amazing! I was blown away! We had a great day full of miracles and laughter! I got to teach someone in Sign language while I was there! Who knew that my 2 years of sign language in High School would come in handy for my mission!

 

I then got to go to Highlands, which is downtown Louisville, on a bike! That was super fun! It felt so great to be on a bike again! I miss it! I was with Sister Griffiths who has only been out for a few weeks! We had such a fun time together! I just love these exchanges because I get to learn so much from the other sisters! We saw so many miracles from talking with people on the street and had great success that day! It was fabulous! I was really sore the next day because we biked about 40 or 50 miles. She got lost a lot since she has only been out for a few weeks, which made sense.

 

This last week:

 

Monday:

 We had a mission conference/party as a whole mission like we did last year!! It was so much fun!!! I love being able to see all the missionaries I have served around or with and talking to them! We had some great musical numbers, and then played some hilarious games! Our team was Comet, and we totally won! It was great! The tetons came into play because I got volunteered to do the egg toss for our team with another missionary. We totally won! That is one thing that has not changed about me...I am still competitive! haha  That night we spent at the mission home with President and Sister Brough, and Sister Ellsworth. Sister Ellsworth was going home a couple weeks early, so she could start school. We were her companions for the night! It was great to be able to just sit down with President and Sister Brough and hear stories! I love them so much!

 

Tuesday: We went on an exchange with Shephardsville Sisters! I was in our area with Sister Galloway that day! We came out together, so it was an amazing day to say the least! We talked about miracles, and stories from our mission! It was amazing! We have this family that we are teaching, the Bonamou's, they are so prepared! They are from Africa and they are so smart! We are teaching the mom, and the two daughters. They know it is true, but can't get baptized until their dad gets here from Africa. They are going to be one powerhouse Mormon family!  ANSWER TO PRAYER: The night before Sister Goodrich and I decided to pick out some members in the ward that we wanted to see that week, so we could build relationships with them. We picked like 5 and two of them were the Mushala's and the Hall's. Well, while we were on the exchange we get a call from the Mushala's inviting us to come over for dinner that night. It was the exact hour that we didn't have an appointment and the Hall's were going to be eating with them too! CAN I SAY PERFECT! They are amazing families, and we had a great dinner appointment with them! We saw a lot of other people, but I don't have time to talk about it all.

 

Wednesday:

CHRISTMAS EVE!! We painted a closet at a recent converts house! That was fun! We taught a few investigators some awesome lessons!  We then went to the Moons and had dinner with them! They are hilarious! The mom is a recent convert and the son is not a member. It was a really good dinner, and they are super sarcastic, so it was hilarious to say the least!  We weren't allowed to proselyte after 6, so we went over to the Hebdons, who are members of the ward! They are sooooo FUNNY! We ate dinner with them too! SO FULL! It was delicious though! We frosted cookies, and then acted out the nativity scene! The spirit was really strong and it was a great time!

 

Thursday:

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

We spent that day at the Thorns! All 8 of us missionaries in the ward spent pretty much the whole day there! It was fabulous! We got to Skype, play games, and nap! It was a great relaxing day, but I was ready to go to work on Friday!

 

Friday:

We had a great district meeting about consecration and developing Christ-like attributes! We had a great lesson with our wonderful investigators the Coffey's. Brother Coffey cracks all these cheesy jokes all the time it is funny stuff! They are progressing so well in the Gospel and want us to come over everyday! We did some more service at the Revolus house! We taught a few other people as well.

 

Saturday: I loved this day because we got to do a little bit of every aspect of the work! I love those days! We had some great lessons!

 

Sunday: Was amazing! I received so many answers to my prayers at church! I love being able to receive revelation at church!

 

It was a great couple of weeks!

 

FUNNIES:

I met a boy named ZION!

 

President during the chubby bunny game yells..." we will go until they gag."

 

 

I challenge you all to study Repentance. We had to give a training on it, and I have learned a lot about repentance and experiencing repentance! It is really cool! We really have to change our thoughts one day at a time!

 

Pray: For Jamie to be able to make it to church

 

 

I love you all! Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

 

Love,

Sister Bradley

 

 

 

FAIRDALE....MELTING POT!

Wow, what a whirlwind of a week! It was crazy busy, fast, slow, exhausting, exciting, happy, sad, cold, hot, wonderful week of being a missionary in the GKLM!!!

 

Let me tell you a little about my crazy wonderful companion Sister Goodrich!!!!!

 

1. She is from Kaysville Utah...2nd companion in a row from there.

 

2. She was a dancer...also 2nd in a row!

 

3. She has a super fun boisterous laugh! It is great!

 

4. She has a super powerful testimony and is a fabulous missionary! I have already learned a ton from!

 

5. Really we are literally the same person...Our personalities are the same, we already finish each others sentences, and it is great fun!

 

6. She has been out for a little over a year.

 

7. She has 6 siblings

 

Yeah, she is awesome and we get along great!

 

The funny/interesting things of the week!

 

-  Our area  is literally the melting pot of Louisville! I have met people from.....Africa, Haiti, Jordan, Russia, Turkey, Colombia, and  Mexico!! There are probably more places, but those are a few!! CRAZY! We teach so many people that speak hardly any English, so the pamphlets are our best friend! I love these people so much already! It is so cool!!

 

- That moment when a recent convert gets a blessing after church from the elders, and they ask her, " who do you want to give the blessing?" She replies, " the tall one because he is the closest to God." hahaha!!! So funny!

 

- After transfer meeting a family in the ward has all the missionaries come over because there are 4 sets in our ward. Two Spanish and two English. They have what they like to call, " Breakinf Bread at the Thorns!" It was hilarious! They are a hilarious couple from New York that was baptized a few years ago.

 

A few of the SPIRITUAL aspects of the week:

 

- When a person, named Bobby, that I got to teach in Evansville lives in Louisville. I taught him during a bible study at a halfway house for people getting out jail. I sent a picture once! He isn't a member, but I got his address from a member in Evansville before I left and he lives across the street from the church! The elders are going to teach him because he lives in their area, but so cool!!!

 

- Sister Goodrich and I were teaching these two girls, Marie and Veronique the other day. They are 10, and 14! We taught them and they asked great questions and everything! To give you a background there mom is being taught as well. They can't get baptized until their dad comes here from Africa, and we have no idea when he will get here due to immigration. Sister Goodrich said that sisters have never taught the daughters, so we decided to focus on them as well. We taught them and it was a super powerful lesson! At the end Veronique prayed and asked if the Book of Mormon was true. After she asked she sat in silence for about 3 minutes, and the spirit was so strong!! It was amazing! She looked up after the prayer, and just said, " I know, wow." The spirit was so strong! I love them so much!

 

 

 It was a great week and I love being able to serve those around me! I love the work of the LORD! It is the best thing ever!!!!  I especially love this season because everyone is more focused on Christ, which makes them happier! I hope that you all are remembering the real reason we have Christmas! It was a such a wonderful Miracle that the Savior came and was born, lived a perfect life, atoned for every one of us, over came death, and was resurrected! He is the one we should be turning to all the time! I can only imagine what this world would be like if everyone  remembered the Savior the whole year round! It would be amazing!!!

 

I love you all and hope that you have a fabulous week!!!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

 

Love,

Sister Bradley

DECEMBER....SAY WHAT!

Welll, I can't believe it is December today! CRAZY! I hope you all had a wonderful THANKSGIVING!!! I know I did!

Monday- The very unusual and short P-day! We had a lesson with Brody at 2:30 and it was great! We brought the Hermana's because Hermana Butts is a convert and we wanted her to share her testimony and conversion with him. We had a super great lesson with him! He told us that if he knows without a doubt that the Gospel is true he would get baptized no matter what and would talk to his dad about it since he is only 16.  We went and helped a member move, and that was also fun! One of the members that was with us helping us move the other member invited us over for dinner. We went over to the Kennedy's house and they are awesome!! I love their family! They totally remind me of my family when I was younger! They are simply hilarious! We had them act out a Book of Mormon story and I am pretty sure it was the most hilarious thing ever!

 

Tuesday- We did some service for an investigator Jo. We went over and helped her make pies! Super fun! We made pumpkin pie and apple pie!  She is soo great! She is one of the most selfless people I have ever met! She told us some very personal things and said that we have brought so much peace into her life! So wonderful! She told us she has adopted us as her granddaughters! We then had to go and help set up and serve food at the VOA, which is a halfway house for prisoners. That was really fun too! We enjoyed talking to them and being able to serve them! We got to eat with them too! We had a lesson with a member, Esteban, after! He is so funny! He has taught us some Spanish! We had a great lesson with him and I even shared my favorite scripture in Spanish with him, and prayed in Spanish!

 

 

 

Wednesday- We had our last District meeting of the transfer! It was the most powerful district meeting I have ever had! We have 12 people in our district, so it is pretty big! We were talking about how when we talk to people that a great way to start off a conversation is a compliment because everyone loves compliments! We discussed how they have to be sincere compliments though. For part of the training they had each of us stand up front and everyone in the room had to give a sincere compliment to the person up front. It was so powerful! The spirit was really strong! I learned a lot about myself and the strengths that I have through that! There are strengths that I didn't even know I had been blessed with! It was super cool!  We then did more service for another member and we helped her make wontons! She gave us some to take home and they are so good! We had a great lesson that evening with the Filson family! They moved her from Alaska a year ago and were taught by missionaries there. They fed us dinner and then we taught them a lesson. It was really good and I am excited for them to continue to progress in the Gospel!

 

Thursday- THANKSGIVING!!! We weren't allowed to do any proselyting that day. We woke up and did the usual morning routine of working out and studying! We then went and played Basketball at the church with the elders and Hermanas! It was fun! We got ready and went to a Thanksgiving meal at the Isaacsons! There were about 15 of us and it was soooo good!!! We then played the minute to win it game with the cotton balls afterwards! So funny! We stopped by a few investigators houses that told us to say hello on Thanksgiving! We got a ton of food from everyone!! We then played Volleyball as a district and then us and the Hermana's went shoe shopping because they had a great sale at one store and they were super cheap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday- We went on an exchange and I was with Sister Priebe! She is awesome! We spent the day

tracting, trying new people, talking with people, and we didn't teach any lessons. It was okay though. We talked to some great people! We had dinner at a member of the other wards house because they had an open invitation to all the missionaries to come and eat, so we did! It was really good! We taught a lesson to Brother Schoot who is a less-active! It was really great! We are going to start teaching his wife who isn't a member this week, so excited! Then we traveled to Mt. Vernon so I could get my companion back! haha

Saturday- We were able to go and help at the soup kitchen that our church is in charge of every 5th Saturday. We went and got to serve the homeless people, and it was really great! I am full of gratitude every time I am around such humble people. I have been blessed with so much in my life! It made me think of the talk from Conference by Elder Holland. "Aren't we all Beggars." We then had to plan for the coming week because we weren't able to any other day! We met as missionaries to discuss a lesson we were going to teach on Sunday and then we all had dinner at Logan's roadhouse with Sister Andrade! She is our ward missionary! She is amazing and I love her so much! She is a convert of about 3 years and is not afraid of sharing the Gospel! While at Logans' roadhouse Elder Adams ate 38 ounces of steak! It was crazy!!

Sunday- I love Sundays! They are so spiritually uplifting! We got to teach the 5th Sunday lesson as Missionaries to help members use Preach My Gospel in their own missionary work! It was a great lesson! We even role played with them! haha After church we had to fill up the font for the baptisms that the ward was having. We had the Baptism of Saul, Elise, and Moses! It was great! I love Baptisms!!!  We had dinner with Kiersten Taylor and she just has a heart of Gold! I love her!

It was a great week!!!

I am so GRATEFUL for all the prayers, support, and encouragement that I constantly get from all of you! I am grateful and blessed that I have you in my life and for the things that you have taught me!!

Prayer- Please pray that Brody will receive his answer and that we can find some new investigators.

I love you all!!!

Love,

Sister Bradley